


just relax, kid

by kosmokuns



Series: race sorting everything out for a few thousand words [2]
Category: Newsies - All Media Types
Genre: Canon Era, Fights, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, I love him, Implied/Referenced Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, but i thought i’d put it there in case, finch and race bad cop good cop, it is mentioned for one line and it’s bc the kid is getting close to addiction, race being a badass big bro and leader, wow greta you are so unpredictable writing another hurt/comfort
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-02
Updated: 2020-03-02
Packaged: 2021-02-27 23:08:56
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,002
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22993723
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kosmokuns/pseuds/kosmokuns
Summary: A fight at the lodgings has unexpected consequences. As usual Race saves the day, and we see a glimpse of someone from the past.alternatively;i wrote another fic where race calms everyone down bc i apparently that’s what i like. i would recommend reading my 5+1 race fic to get what kind of lodgings i’ve set up.
Relationships: Finch (Newsies) & Racetrack Higgins
Series: race sorting everything out for a few thousand words [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1652494
Comments: 1
Kudos: 33





	just relax, kid

**Author's Note:**

> thank u for reading, enjoy

Heavy footsteps crashing up the stairs broke Race from his mathematical induced trance in his shared bedroom. Running a hand through his curls, he braved himself for whatever mischief the boys had got themselves into now. It seemed that lately the Manhattan newsies had been getting bolder and more careless and Race was far from impressed – it made his job an awful lot harder.

“What is it?” Race said, rubbing his hand over his eyes, not even seeing who was coming in the room. The door slammed open and Fio was clutching the handle, careening in,

“There’s a fight,” He panted, “You better come quick,”

In an instant, Race switched from tired to alert, ready for anything. Fights didn’t happen often, but in the environment they were living in, they were inevitable. Race had been in a few himself, mainly with Mush, and knew how ugly they could turn in a matter of seconds.

Fio looked frantic and hazy all at once, he was worried and there was definite fear in his eyes, that wasn’t something the newsies normally had towards fights and that unsettled Race,

“Who is it?” Race said, standing up from his desk and following Fio out the door and down the stairs. He clutched onto the banisters as he almost threw himself down the stairs and Race had to resist the urge to tell him to slow down. It would be pointless anyway. Fio turned back to look at him, face grim,

“Ralph and Slick.”

“Holy shit,” Race breathed, “Let’s go, kid,” He said, discarding any semblance of being a role model and flinging himself down four steps to the floor. Fio landed next to him with a thud and led the way to the common room where the younger boys liked to relax and play games.

The room was a complete mess. There were tables turned around everywhere and only a few boys were left apart from the fighting ones, inching their way to the door, Race beckoned at them to come swiftly and they all but flew towards him, landing in his arms. They could only have been thirteen. Race felt anger swell inside of him, but calmed himself, making himself a pillar for the boys. He hugged them hurriedly then sent them off with Fio to find Crutchie or Henry.

Inside the room Finch was waiting just next to the door, leaning back on the wall with his arms crossed,

“Why are you waiting?” Race hissed, sidling next to him. Finch glanced at him,

“They got shit to work through,” He looked down at a battered watch on his wrist, “I was only giving them a minute more when you arrived,”

Processing what he said, Race formulated a plan in his head,

“Do you know who started what?” He asked and Finch shook his head,

“Pretty even on both sides from what I understand, Ralph was talking some crap and Slick got tired of it,”

“Great.” Race muttered to himself, “You take Slick, just grab him from behind and pull him back as far as possible and then I’ll move in and get Ralph from the front,” He instructed and Finch acknowledged him by tilting his head and starting to edge forward. He was careful to stay out of sight of either of the two, which was easy as they were so focused on beating the shit out of each other, and he managed to creep up a metre behind Slick. Ralph sent a punch flying forward toward him and Slick was forced to dodge backward, falling right into Finch’s arms. He clamped them around his shoulders tight and dragged him away from Ralph, legs kicking and screaming. Race glided in and good a firm hand on Ralph’s chest, walking him back and pinning him to the wall. Putting up a decent fight, Race struggled to keep him contained,

“Hey, man, stop moving, okay? Just stay nice and still for me,” He had one hand on his chest and the other on his shoulder, he applied pressure there in an effort to ground him. Ralph continued to writhe around against the wall,

“No,” He panted, “I’ve got to get him,”

Race added that to his mental file to ask him about later,

“I hear you, but right now you’ve got to just relax a little bit, okay? Just relax,” He said in a soothing voice, keeping it as even and calm as possible. He could hear Finch doing the exact same to Slick on the other side of the room and not fairing any better. Slick and Ralph were seriously riled up and they had to calm them not knowing what had happened; it always seemed like a mammoth task. Ralph kicked his legs, scraping the side of Race’s shins with his boots. He ignored the pain,

“Listen to me Ralph, can you take a few deep breathes for me?” He demonstrated by breathing in and out deeply, emphasising the rise and fall of his chest. Ralph was determined not to conform,

“I don’t wanna,” He screamed, “Let me go,”

Race winced, he didn’t need the whole lodgings knowing what was going on,

“I get you’re frustrated, but please can we keep the volume down,” He said gently, continuing to press down hard on Ralph’s shoulder. Letting out a shout, Ralph bit down into Race’s right forearm. He barely reacted physically, it had happened to him countless times before by the teeth of little ones who wouldn’t go to bed and of course, situations like this. He decided to change his tactics,

“Ralph I am perfectly happy to stand here and hold you against this wall for hours if that’s what it takes for you to calm down, but what I will not accept is you biting me. You’re sixteen, get a grip,” Race said harshly.

Across the room, Finch had worked a miracle and settled Slick, leading him out of the room to get his wounds tended to. Race hoped the same would happen to him soon,

“Not my fucking fault,” Said Ralph, “He came at me first,” His struggling had decreased, but Race could still feel him pushing against his force to get out of the hold he was in,

“Look buddy, I know you want to get off this wall, but you gotta stop shoving for me to let you, not tell me how this all started,” Race replied and Ralph groaned, dropping his head back on to the wall. Race heard him take a few deep breaths and then he stilled,

“I ain’t moving,” He grumbled and Race nodded,

“And you ain’t gonna run if I let you go?”

“I won’t run,” He agreed and Race steadily backed off, letting him down. Before he could go anywhere, Race reached over to hold his hand, “Really Race?” Ralph said and Race covered a smile,

“Yep, did you know that hand-holding is scientifically proven to make things better,”

“Oh yeah? Where’d you read that?”

“I just know, Ralph,” He said and Ralph groaned again, trailing behind Race as he led him to the dining room opposite. It was completely empty, and Race pushed him onto a bench and hollered for Finch. He had a feeling they’d need to two-team the reason for the fight out of him. Finch appeared in seconds, quietly leaning on the wall behind Race, directly in Ralph’s eye line. Race was good cop, Finch was bad cop.

“So you said Slick came at you,” Race said and Ralph nodded, “Why’d you think he’d do that?”

“I don’t know,” Ralph replied, “Because he’s nuts,”

“No one starts a fight for no reason, Ralph,”

“I already told you, he’s nuts,” Ralph insisted,

“So if I went to ask Slick right now if he was provoked or not, he would say he started a fight for fun?” Finch cut in, raising an eyebrow at Ralph. He paled, eyes focusing on his hands in his lap,

“Whatever you did,” Race said softly, leaning forward to catch Ralph’s eyes, “We can sort it out, okay? I’m not going to let you solve this by yourself, you’re one of my boys and I’m responsible for you and I love you,”

“You have to tell us what’s happened, Ralphie,” Finch said, walking to sit down on the bench next to Race and opposite Ralph. Ralph swallowed,

“He’s worrying me,” He started, “He’s been drinking more from God knows where and I was angry with him, I was so cross Racer you don’t understand, so I start insulting him, winding him up because I don’t know what to do,” He paused, “I said stuff about his family I didn’t mean and he launched himself at me… I probably deserved it,”

Race shared a meaningful look with Finch, who immediately rose to corroborate the story with Slick. They’d have to tackle Slick’s drinking after this mess was sorted,

“Ralph, it’s so important that when you know your friends are doing something they shouldn’t be you tell someone. Me or Jack or Davey or Finch, Crutchie… anyone. I’m going to tell you now that you and Slick are going to have to apologise and I’m going to have to punish you both. We try to avoid fighting as much as possible, especially in front of the little ones,”

Ralph nodded glumly, hanging his head. It was at that moment when Finch led a haggard and dejected looking Slick into the room. He motioned for him to step forward and he did so reluctantly,

“I’m sorry for fighting you, Ralphie,” He said meekly, wringing his hands,

“I’m sorry for fighting and saying those nasty things about you and your family, you know I don’t think that,” Ralph replied, rising from the table. He skirted around it and pulled Slick into a crushing hug, “I was just worried about you,”

“I know and I’m sorry for that too, I just feel like everything’s been so hard lately,” He choked back tears on the last word and buried his head on his shoulder. Race felt his heart splinter, it was his job to look after all of the boys and he’d failed for Slick. It was like he was a vase being shattered, and he had a desire to cry and be hugged as well. He’d go to Spot’s after this was cleared up for sure,

“Hey Race, what’s their punishment going to be?” Finch’s voice awoke him from his reverie. Both boys groaned,

“Two weeks putting the littles to bed together and lights out at 9pm?” Race suggested and Finch’s mouth curled into a smirk,

“Perfect,” He said,

“That’s so harsh,” Slick protested and Race laughed,

“Retribution and all that,” He said and Ralph and Slick pouted. He laughed again and shooed them away, closing the dining room door behind him as he grabbed his coat and started towards Brooklyn.

_two weeks later_

“You’ve created a monster, Race,” Jack remarked from his position in the duty chair, looking up the stairs and seeing Slick yank Ralph into his room and connect lips barely over the threshold. Race moaned,

“I know it’s awful, I basically gave them half an hour of make out time,”

Jack laughed, “As if you and Spot weren’t the same, I remember when he used to come here and you’d make out on the fire escape for hours with literally no shame,”

Race shoved his head into his hands, “Don’t remind me,”

Jack elbowed him, “Now you’re like an old married couple, always bickering,”

“It’s not my fault I left a shirt at his and he said he would wash it and then didn’t, lazy fuck,” Race grumbled and Jack punched him,

“Height of romance you two are,”

“Hey does Davey know about that time when you stole a horse when you were thirteen,”

“You wouldn’t dare,”

“Yes I would, so shut up,”

Jack’s lips remained firmly sealed from now on, and he only traded conspicuous looks at meals with Race when Slick and Ralph couldn’t stop touching.

**Author's Note:**

> it’s quarter to midnight on a monday can i get a hell yeah! jokes,, all of u should go to bed. i hope you liked this!! please comment because my life is a mess and i live for validation.
> 
> this is your reminder that you are cared for and beautiful and you should stay alive. love u <3
> 
> (for L, my darling girl, keep on fighting)


End file.
